Rats are looked upon fondly by most players, being the first monster any player defeats. Vannaka of Tutorial Island sets the task of slaying a rat or giant rat to every new player. Rats respawn after half a game tick, the fastest respawn rate in the game. Rats appear in many dungeons and sewers throughout Gielinor, and due to their weakness and commonness, rats are not marked on the minimap. A similar critter, the level 1 spider, shares the same stats as the rat.

When clue scrolls were first introduced, rats had an extremely low chance of dropping an easy clue scroll. This was later changed so that rats never drop clue scrolls.

The rat was one of the first entities ever added to RuneScape, being the fifth behind Hans, goblins, men, and women. Its larger counterpart, the giant rat, soon followed.

Cats

Players who have a cat or a kitten can tell it to chase vermin, in which case it will try to attack any rat in range. If your cat catches at least 100 rats, you can go to Gertrude to get a cat training medal (no special bonuses). Also, if you have a rat pole, a rat will be added to it each time a rat is caught by your cat.